Roseville police warn of possible Hoffa scam

A recent investigation that included digging in a resident’s yard for possible human remains may have spawned a scam that targets seniors, Roseville police warned Friday.

According to police, several residents received a letter, purportedly from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, that suggests the body of former Teamsters leader James Hoffa is buried in the yard of the letter’s recipient.

The letter claims the recent search of a home by Roseville police on Florida Street was only a ruse to mislead media, and the real site authorities want to investigate is in the homeowner’s yard.

“We have found an anomaly in that area of your yard that coincided with the information the source gave us,” the letter reads. “… Once we get our clearance from the local utility companies in that area, we will be contacting you to arrange a suitable time frame in which we can covertly dig up our samples.”

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The letter claims the DEQ is working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI on the case.

None of it is true, Roseville police said.

“It is our belief that the letters … are being sent out as a ruse to lure the homeowner out of their home to inspect the alleged grave site while an accomplice enters the home to rob whatever valuables are readily available,” Roseville police Chief James Berlin wrote in a news release.

Berlin said residents should not allow themselves to be lured out of their homes, and they should contact police immediately if anybody approaches them about investigating the Hoffa case.